Waterford couple turn virtual reality into real-world success
Situated in a business park on Waterford city’s outskirts, this nondescript venue is home to Immersive VR Education, the listed company Whelan, the chief executive, set up with his wife, Sandra.
Expansion has sneaked up on the Waterford couple, who brought their company public earlier this year. Their vision is to bring their platform, allowing virtual training and education, to a global audience.
With that in mind, they’ve released educational virtual reality content experiences and, more recently, David was nominated at the Venice Film Festival for his work on one of those experiences – Berlin Blitz.
But Whelan is keen to stress this company isn’t just about content. Its core focus is to develop an education system in virtual reality. The rationale is that online education is dated and tedious and that VR can better engage students.
The couple were initially looking to raise €5 million. By the end of the process, the IPO was oversubscribed with offers amounting to £9.4 million (€10.5 million). They ended up taking €6 million while holding a 40.04 per cent stake between themselves.
See the full story here: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/waterford-couple-turn-virtual-reality-into-real-world-success-1.3628215